How not to Fail Doing a Group Presentation

Giving a group presentation is a particularly hard thing to do. Organizing the whole thing is extremely troublesome and there are so many little things that might go wrong. Yet basically everyone will have to have such an experience at some point. Nearly every group project will have you making a group presentation in the end.

A presentation may be on something simple, but it can also be a summary of some major piece of work you did (e.g. english coursework). So why not make the whole experience a little less awkward and much more efficient? Here are some tips as to how:

Manage your time

As in many other things in life, time management is the key here. College students are often struggling with it, but it is hardly an excuse to fail. Set strict deadlines and make sure everyone follows them. Something can always go wrong, so try to also account for deviations when making a schedule.

Assign everyone a role

We all know that person who doesn’t do anything in a group project. We also know a person who always tries to do everything. Well, for a group presentation to be successful you have to eliminate this factor. Everyone must know what they will do from start to the end and be responsible for the specific part of a project. For example, if you are making a group literature review, make sure everyone gets a part of the original text they have to work on.

Work together

A lot of the time after everyone’s role is assigned they will simply go on to do their part and will not even try to communicate with others. And then all these small presentations are stitched together into a big one in a very awkward way. Be sure you work together from the beginning and that you are doing the same thing.

Rehearse

Just planning is never enough. You just have to practice your presentation before you give one! This way you will always see your weak spots and can work efficiently to eliminate all of them. While at it, take all the feedback – positive as well as negative. It might feel a little bit awkward at first, but this is how you turn your average presentation into a great one.

Present it together

Picture a group presentation where everyone quietly stands in the back while a single person gives all the presentation. Feels uncomfortable? Well, it looks even more so. Make sure everyone is involved in the actual presentation.

Well, this is how you do a group presentation. Overall, we hope that even if you are giving a presentation on something as complicated as, let’s say, a dissertation proposal, individual or group, you will always do a great job of it!